Sacrificing Symbols of Beauty of Chandigarh!

Symbol of Chandigarh-Open hand

But It's creator not open to criticism

Roundabouts of Chandigarh have always been a beauty symbols and the best feature any city can replicate. Chandigarh as a great and able planned product of French Architect Le Corbusier enjoys a great  The well planned and designed grid road network of Chandigarh proudly boasts of a series of 'chownks' that not only aesthetically improvises the entire Chandigarh city .These Rotaries are well maintained  due to which Chandigarh is called the city Beautiful!

 An aerial view of Sector 16-17-22-23 roundabout.

People may call these series of 'Chowks' as a great and ably planned product of French Architect Le Corbusier but I call these as ' Traffic Calming circles'  copied mechanically without application of mind from Paris city of France. The Grid has been designed architecturally without realizing that it was a subject matter of Traffic Engineering.Now the position is that all these rotaries shall have to be sacrificed yielding place to Traffic lights. In fact many of these have already been demolished .

Sector 33-34 Round about being demolished.

If at all one rotary could be saved it would be the one ,Sector 16-17,22,23 Round about.which was designed by me from traffic engineering point of view but implemented on the ground applying a reduction factor of 33 % to that designed by me.(See  the Picture above)

Questions have been raised over the viability of roundabouts due to increasing traffic in the city

I had  joined Capital Project Chandigarh in  the Dec.1963, as Assistant Engineer (Design). The stage of of the project at that time was :Only Sector 19 and sector 22 were partly built.Kiran Cinema was the only theater.Allotment of plots was being done in sector10 and 11. and there were no takers.Price of one kanal plot was Rs.4000/- (Rs.8 per sq. yd.) and plots were going a begging although Government offered Loan to the extent of Rs. 3000/-.Harles-Édouard Jeannette, known as Le Corbusier, a Swiss-French architect, designer, urban planner,Planned the city of Chandigarh.Le Cor-busier was an assumed name  his family name was Jeannette.His cousin,Pierre Jeannette was chief Architect of Chandigarh.S. Kulbir Singh was the Chief Engineer of the Capital project.Architects used to get Structural advice from the Engineering Department.Both the office blocks (Engineering and Architecture) were located in the same lot opposite to each other in sector 19.My job in the Organization was that of Building design only.

A German Student ,writing a thesis on 'Urban planning in India with special reference to Chandigarh' ,approached the Chief Commissioner who directed him to approach the chief engineer who in turn directed him to see me.The first question he asked me was to tell him the defects in planning of the city.I told him that there has been a huge gap between vision and reality,'elitist' approach to city's planning (Only sectors 2 to 9 have private residential plots 2000 to 4000 sq.yds. area),in all the other sectors 37.5 sq yd. to 500 sq.yds,All important buildings such as Civil secretariat,High court,Assembly hall,Minister houses,MLA flats and hostel,were at a stone's throw distance from rich and miles away from poor daily commuters.I had pointed out about a dozen and a half defects in planning of the project including construction of roundabouts that were not being constructed from Traffic Engineering point of view.

No heed was paid to my suggestions, as I was only a small fry and Jeannettes would not listen to anybody less than Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru and Partap singh Kairon.the then chief minister of Punjab

Le Cor busier and perre Janette

In my private capacity I sought appointment from Perre,to suggest improvements in planning and design.He used to speak broken English and I learnt a few words of French.He directed me to explain my suggestions to Mr.  M.M.sharma architect who in turn was required to  report to him about the suggestions.I explained to the Mr.Sharma that design of Rotaries being built was faulty and substandard from traffic engineering point of view I explained to him that if we take the Speed limit of Chandigarh-Ambala road as 100 Km. /hr, while approaching a town ( such as Zirakpur,Dera bassi etc.) one has to reduce the speed say by about  30% ,and while in the town, when approaching a junction one has to further reduce the speed say by another 30%,meaning thereby that the Rotaries should be designed for a speed of 50 Km. /hr.At the Roundabout,the points of conflict,point of merger and that of bifurcation,weaving distance etc. are to be taken care of.At a rotary funnel shaped effect has to be given,(While approaching a rotary wider entry narrow exit and the opposite while leaving the junction.). Mr. Sharma said that whatever i was talking was beyond him and suggested that I should design one of the Rotaries.

The most important was the Intersection of Sectors16,17,22,23 which I designed.As I submitted the design there was a lot of hue and cry about design .It was considered anti-pedestrians,Ricksha pullers,cyclists and other slow moving vehicles raising question ,' how would they negotiate such a big Circle? My design did not find favour with the Architects.The design was examined by the Engineering department .Chief engineer called me to explain to him the design which he found perfectly in order.But nobody dared to find fault with the planning of architect of Corbusier's stature.Who could bell the cat," Kaun kahe Raani agga dhak". Ultimately Engineers and Architects arrived at  a compromised formula that as a test case and the design be implemented applying a reduction factor of 33% (Picture no 1 above)The architects adopted ,'Mai.n na maanu' attitude and constructed all other rotaries ignoring my suggestion.and the result is as shown in picture no 3.After failing to find any alternative to traffic congestion,Traffic lights were installed on the rotaries ,defeating the very purpose of a rotary and resulted in time loss,more fuel consumption and excessive carbon emission polluting the atmosphere.The end result is shown in picture no 2.

It will not be out of place to mention  that grade separations at certain junction was also suggested by me and likewise I had been entrusted the design of a  grade separation.I chose  the junction of Madhya Marg and  Dual Carriageway leading from sector 16-17,22-23 to civil Secretariat.The proposal was;For Through traffic the dual carriageway was to be depressed by 23 Ft.( 18 Ft. height of double Decker bus, 3 ft. depth of rib of T-beam of the bridge,2 ft, free board) at Madhya marg junction.bridge Parrallel to Madhya marg was proposed to be constructed for turning traffic.I checked up the depth of storm water sewer at this point For drainage of depressed road Sewer existed at this level being a rolling ground.

The design as i vividly remember would have looked somewhat like the picture above.Photo copy of the design by me in 1964 must be available in chief engineer's office.The design has not been implemented  even today after elapse of 55 years

Fed up with my criticism of Corbusior's planning pierre got me transferred to Kulu. and I took this punishment as nourishment!

Tejinder Kamboj,the then( 1963-65) Assistant Engineer capital Project Chandigarh